Maria Montessori

Maria Montessori was born in Chairavalle, Italy in 1870. She graduated from medical school in 1869. She was the first female physician in Italy.She has a strong interest for children with diseases and children who were said to be "ineducable." Aside from her medical practices she analyzed children and how they learn.

She came to the conclusion that children learn from their environment. She focused her on the mind and went back to school in 1901. She studied psychology and philosophy. Her will to help children grew and in 1906 she gave up her medical career to work with sixty young children in the district of Rome. She found the first "Children's House" which was a place that provided a good environment for children to live and learn. This is where the Montessori method of education was developed. This method was based on Maria's observations of the child's tired interest in managing materials along with effortless strength to take in knowledge from their surroundings. Everything that Montessori looked at, all her methods, and exercises in daily living were based on what she saw from the children, and what they do "naturally" alone with out the help from adults.

The exercises practiced where to create a ladder effect on children. This was supposed to let children pick up a challenge and to then judge their process. This assignment was to catch the child's interest and engage the child's whole personality. Montessori had a full dedication to forwarding the self-creating child. This was influenced by Montessori's pursuit of methodology, educational reform, psychology, teaching, and teacher training. Attention was also placed on self determination and self realization of children.



She conducted a series of teacher training courses in London and opened a Montessori Training Centre in 1938 In Laren, Netherlands. She also founded teacher training courses in 1939 in India. shortly after she also founded a Montessori Training Centre in London in 1947.

Montessori was nominated for a Nobel Piece Prize three times. She died in Noordwijk Holland in 1952. Her work moves on through the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI). Which is the organization that she founded in Amsterdam, Netherlands in 1929.

http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-mont.htm

http://www.montessori-namta.org/NAMTA/geninfo/mmbio.html